AP: Thousands Flee As Ecuador Volcano Erupts

Eugene

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Sat Jul-15-06 09:24 PM
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AP: Thousands Flee As Ecuador Volcano Erupts

Thousands Flee As Ecuador Volcano Erupts

The Associated Press
Saturday, July 15, 2006; 10:01 PM

QUITO, Ecuador -- Thousands of Ecuadorean villagers have fled their homes
on the slopes of the Tungurahua volcano since it began erupting lava and
toxic gases, authorities said Saturday.

No injuries have been reported, but some 3,700 people have abandoned their
homes in half a dozen hamlets since Friday, the Civil Defense said.

"There have been no victims, but all the vegetation has died and we have
lost cattle," said Juan Salazar, mayor of Penipe County, which includes
two villages where 300 families have been forced to evacuate.

<snip>

Full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/15/AR2006071501076.html

Also: In pictures: Ecuador volcano - BBC

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Zorro

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Sat Jul-15-06 10:10 PM
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1. Hope it pipes down

Tungurahua is a particularly problematic volcano; its last eruption pretty much closed the most direct road from Riobamba to Banos.

On a side note, I was in the area last December, and found what could be one of the most peaceful and beautiful places on earth on the road between Banos and Puyo (into the Amazon basin). One of the ways the Ecuadorians are making a living is running some cable car services across the river to the Tungurahua side; there's an absolutely beautiful campground about 10 miles east of Banos, with beautiful orchids and flowers growing amid the huts.

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The Straight Story

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Sun Jul-16-06 01:04 AM
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2. Wars and rumors of wars.....etc

Yeah, sounding like a hal lindsey book from the 70's right about now :)

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DoYouEverWonder

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Sun Jul-16-06 05:56 AM
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3. Sure doesn't look good

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Vogon_Glory

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Sun Jul-16-06 07:01 PM
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4. Tungurahua Not A Volcano To Kid Around With

I visited Ecuador back in 1999 and remembered seeing a lot of volcanos there, most of them dormant. In fact, the road to Quito runs along what German explorer Alexander von Humboldt nicknamed "Volcano Alley."

I'd also read a translated and much-abridged book by a couple of eighteenth-century Spanish exporers who traveled to Ecuador to measure Earth's diameter. The Spaniards reported on many things, including volcanic eruptions. The book later allowed me to keep my cool when Pichincha erupted near Quito, but I remembered thinking that Tungurahua was NOT a volcano to kid around with.

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